Nepal: Performance Art in Kathmandu Valley

Nepal: Performance Art by AnonymousThe essence of Kathmandu Valley - colour, religion and a touch of surreal madness - can be found in the sculptures of its gods and goddesses. They have great beauty by themselves, but it is enhanced by a constant ritual of performance art. The artists are many. The monk, leaving a flower in the lap of the god. The child, hanging sacred threads around the neck and pushing grains of rice in its mouth. The monkey, stealing some a few minutes later. The old lady, smearing red and yellow powder on the gods chakras. The rain, washing the pigments out, creating the nuances of a watercolour. And time, rotting the mandarine offering, turning orange into green. Add bird droppings and the occasional animal blood during a ritual. No single artist ever could reach the result. And in the process the hindu and buddhist gods of Nepal are reincarnated into a fresh work of art every single day.

On Bhaktapur's Taumadhi Square five pairs of temple guardians flank the stairs that lead up to the Nyatapola Temple. From bottom to top: the wrestlers Jaya Malla and Patha Malla (not visible here), elephants, lions, griffins and two minor goddesses, Baghini and Singhini. Each pair is supposed to be ten times as strong as the pair below. Photo Paul Smit.